If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 493

 

 

 

 

Gare des Bénédictins (railway station), Limoges, France

 

This used Editions Rene postcard has the number 87098 at the upper left corner on the reverse.  The photograph, by Chalou A., is of the Gare des Bénédictins, Limoges, France.  This is the main railway station of Limoges and was named after a Benedictine monastery.  During the French Revolution the monastery was closed.

 

The early French railways company, Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans or CF du PO, opened the first Limoges rail station in the 1850s.  It was built of wood and about ten years later replaced by a stone station that opened in 1860.  Then, in 1918 the city council  reached an agreement with CF du PO for the construction of a new station, built between 1924 and 1929.  Under the tracks is an underground roadway used by the Germans during World War II as a passive defense shelter that is partly walled off today.  However, a sign “nur für Wehrmacht (only for army)” is still there.  In 1944, acting on information from the Resistance, the Allies bombarded the area and prevented movement of trains for more than a week. 

 

In January 1975 the station was listed as an historic monument and work began to restore the Great Hall that was completed in 1979. 

 

Disasters associated with the station include a fire that broke out in the dome in 1998 with no loss of life, and, a derailment in 2013 that resulted in the death of seven people.  Following the fire, the city had the dome rebuilt to its original design. 

 

Roger Gonthier (1884-1978) was the French architect who designed the station.  It was built over ten railway lines instead of next to them.  A 90 by 78 m (approximately 297 by 257 ft) platform supports the building.  Constructed of concrete the building is filled in with limestone with the dome having a metal frame and covered in copper.  The clock tower, seen at the left on the card, is 200 ft or 67 m tall and has four clocks.  The first floors of the station contain offices.  Stunning views of the city can be seen from the top floors.  Considered one of the last great monumental train stations in France it remains a landmark building.

 

As always, thank you to a friend for sending this card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoges-Bénédictins_station

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoges

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Gonthier